On Friday, Sept. 17th, the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island hand-delivered a bookletto the Jekyll Island Authority consisting of 18 recommendations for revision of the Jekyll Island Master Plan. Included in the booklet are the names and addresses of the 1,377 people who endorsed IPJI’s recommendations. We extend our deepest thanks to all who participated in the effort to present the Jekyll Island Authority with a comprehensive, widely-endorsed prescription for updating Jekyll’s Master Plan!

The fact that endorsements of IPJI’s recommendations came from 138 towns/cities in Georgia, 35 states and 5 countries attests to the importance that Jekyll’s friends assign to the Master Plan update and should add significant weight to IPJI’s recommendations. We trust that the Jekyll Island Authority will give those recommendations careful consideration as the Master Plan review takes place and that the revised Master Plan will reflect the input given to the Authority in good faith by the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island.

The next step in the Jekyll Island Master Plan review process will come when the JIA—with the help of a yet to be named consulting team—digests the input it has received in response to its Request for Information and then further defines the scope of work for the development of a Master Plan update. Once that takes place, the JIA has said it will publicize its recommendation on how to bring the Master Plan project forward and has pledged to provide for additional public input.

While the JIA’s interest in hearing from the public is commendable, IPJI has argued that there should be public involvement in determining the planning process itself, not just an opportunity to provide input for or comment on goals and plans that the JIA has drafted. The first of IPJI’s 18 recommendations for revision of the Jekyll Island Master Plan outlines how public land planning professionals deal with this very issue and encourages the Jekyll Island Authority to establish an official policy on public involvement that is consistent with best practices in public land planning across America.

In the mean time, IPJI will web-post all news related to the Master Plan update and will advise its members when further opportunities for engagement in the Master Plan update present themselves. The Jekyll Island Authority has said that it “is listening, open and interested in what you have to say.” We will do all we can to ensure that the JIA hears and heeds your input.

Again, thank you for your continued interest in the future of Jekyll Island State Park!